Sunday, December 17, 2006

Vestern Unien

There’s an old song by The Five Americans called Western Union. It’s about a guy who receives a wire telling him his girlfriend is dumping him. The group sings, “Western Union" in high-pitched voices, followed by a volley of “Da-da-da-da-da da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da da-da-da-da-da”, that is a syncopated, catchy rhythm. Western Union no longer sends telegrams, but I found out this week that they will send money—fast—for a fee.

My son is over 5,000 miles away, living in Russia. His debit card inexplicably would no longer work for cash advances, and the poor boy had no money. So he did what any able-bodied American young man would do in his pitiful circumstances—he asked Mom for help.

I had never used Western Union before, so I was very pleased to learn how simple it was to send money securely online, and have it ready for Pitiable Son to pick up in mere minutes at a location just a couple of blocks from where he lives. It was amazing to me. How small the world really is with all of our modern technology!

So my son is flush with cash, and feeling satisfied that he has funds to buy leather jackets, and slippers and matryoshki to send home to the States. I’m relieved that the financial problem is solved, and I can quit worrying about said son begging on the street (an unlikely exaggeration), or worse, accepting rides from strangers (a distinct possibility). Now I’m the one singing “Western Union…Da-da-da-da-da da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da da-da-da-da-da.” And all those “Da’s” have new significance—in Russian, “da” means “yes”!


Posted by Cyppy at 11:12 PM
Comments:
Electronic commerce is truly wonderful!
posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 12/17/2006 11:37 PM
 
Yes, I got a kick out of reading Andrew's account of his serendipitous enrichment. Considering that the average salary for a Russian worker is somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 per month, I think young Andrew should be comfortable for a while. I chuckled when you alluded to Andrew's possibly accepting a ride from strangers! Riding with strangers is standard operating procedure in Russia. Virtually every single car in Russia functions as a taxi, regardless of whether it is identified as such by signs or decals. If you hold your arm out while standing on the side of the road, within minutes, and sometimes seconds, a private automobile owner will pull over, roll down his window, and ask you "where to, and for how much?" It's great. In fact, I was once hailing a taxi using this very method when an ambulance driver pulled over (in his ambulance vehicle) and drove me home for twenty rubles. I should have asked him if he would flip on his lights and siren for an extra ten rubles. Something tells me he would have accepted the offer. What a great country!
posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 12/18/2006 8:30 PM
 
Hope there was a big spasiba for your efforts!
posted by Blogger Melemele : 12/19/2006 6:25 PM
 
Well, I'm assuming the ambulance Michael hailed as a taxi was not on an emergency run... !
posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 12/21/2006 12:02 AM
 
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